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^OVA  SCOTJ4 


PROVINCE  HOUSE 


DOCTRINE  ^^1^  ii\x.xOT  BAPTISM, 


m  A  IT  filial' 


^t8ttc««»  iu  m& 


i       ll 


REV.   WM.   BULLOGK, 

BECTOB  OB-  DIftBY. 


"  Sofltor  little  «Jiild«m  to  come  unto  me  and  ferMu  Uwai  not,  for  of  such  i»  tha  kingdoM 
ofHeftTeB."  ifir*-  X.  13,  14. 

"The  baptiWQ  c£  yomg  chUdwa  » la  any  wise  to  be  r«t»iB«<^  ii  fh*  Ohurch,  m  moit 
agrt)etMe  with  tite  ilwUtutJoa  of  Christ."  .4fttei«  XJtvtt. 


lOBTON : 
PRINTED    BY   BAVO   •-"*'»"    m. 


'      - — V 


THE    BAPTIST    ANSWERED. 


THE 


DOCTRINE  OF  INFANT  BAPTISM, 


TAUGHT  IN  THE  SCRIPTUEES 


J^ractCstti  in  the  Otfjunij. 


BY    REV.    WM.    BULLOCK, 


RECTOK    OF    DIGBY. 


"  Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me  iind  foriiid  them  not,  for  of  snch  is  the  kingdom 
of  heaven."  Mark- \.  13,  11. 

"The  baptism  of  youns  children  is  in  any  wise  to  be  retained  in  the  Church,  as  moit 
ag-reeaOlc  with  the  insiiiulion  ol  Christ.''  Articl:  xwii, 


BOSTON: 

PRINTED    BY    DAMD   CLAl'P,   JR. 

1843. 


mammsm^ym^i- 


/  *  ">,  '^ 


f  3i 


PREFACE. 


n 


A  riORfc  perfect  argument  upon  the  sul/ject  of  the  following 
dirfcou'^-e  '3  lo  be  found  in  the  adniiruhle  works  of  the  Rev. 
\v  M  iviAM  Gray,  of  St.  John,  and  the  Rev.  James  Robertson, 
of  -Ji'.di;etr>\\  n  ;  and  to  them  I  lefer  the  reader,  who  would 
'  v)rove  all  things  and  hold  f;  sc  -hat  which  is  good  ;"  to  scholars 
ZiV'  to  men  of  lei-'ure  thjy  furnish  an  unanswerable  defence  of 
Infant  Baptism,  jjut,  logical  investigation  and  massive  argu- 
ment ave  offered  in  vain  to  the  uneducated  and  laboring  poor  ; 
while  the  doctrines  of  the  fathers  and  the  practices  of  antiquity 
are  alike  undervalued  and  disallowed  by  those  who  are  in  en'or 
upon  the  subject.  Either  of  these  books,  abridged  and  simplified 
by  their  able  authors,  would  supersede  the  necessity  of  the 
present  undertaking  ;  the  object  of  which  is  to  set  before  the 
unlearned  inquirer  the  tme  doctrine  of  the  initiatoiy  sacrament, 
and  to  vindicate  the  practice  '  of  the  Church  by  the  alone 
evidence  of  the  sacred  Scriptures.  I  have  strictly  confined 
myself  to  the  one  great  doctrine  of  Infant  Baptism,  and  have 
purposely  avoided  the  dispute  upon  Immersion,  the  Shibboleth 
of  the  Baptists  ;  and  upon  the  necessary  qualification  of  the 
baptizer.  But,  I  will  here  state  that  I  am  fully  persuaded  that 
the  spirit  of  the  commandment  is  fulfilled  eidier  by  affusion  or 
sprinkling — each  and  all  being  practised  in  the  Church  ;  nor  can 


IV 


PRKFACK. 


1  shrink  Horn  ilio  avowal  of  iny  lu-lii-f.  iluit  they,  who  so  scrupu- 
lously adhcrt'  to  ih(!  one  modti  of  administerlns;  the  sacrament, 
have  no  authoiity  to  administer  it  at  all  ;  and  that  having  no 
scnj)tural  ordination  to  thu  ministry,  their  baptisms  must  be 
irrouular,  if  not  altoizctlicr  in\alid. 

The  s])irit  of  in(|uiry  awakened  l)y  tlie  preaching  of  this 
sermon  lia.s  indneed  me  to  ])Mblish  it,  that  its  elFect  may  not 
tenninate  in  a  ti'uiporary  excitement ;  but  that  my  parishioners 
may  j)onder  its  arguments  with  unimpassioned  minds,  and  imitate 
those  noble  IJereans,  who  searched  the  Scriptures,  whether  tiie 
things  sj)oken  of  wviv  christian  verity  ; — and  it  is  sent  forth  w  ith 
tlie  earnest  prayer,  that  it  may  serve  to  build  up  and  to  fortify 
the  members  of  the  C'hurcli  in  her  precious  faith,  and  assist  those 
who  have  strayed  from  her  pure  and  peaceful  household,  to 
discern  the  free  urace  of  God,  as  it  is  manifested  in  the  admission 
of  our  children  into  the  covenant  and  the  kuigdom  of  lieaven. 


W.  Bullock. 


Rectory,  Digby,  March,  ]8i2. 


SERMON. 


AND  WHEM  THE   EIOHT  DATS   WERE  ACCOMPLISHF.T)  FOR  THE  CIRcnMCISI>ia  OF 

THE  CEIl-D,   THEY  CALLED  HIS  NAME  JESCd. 

Luko   ii.  51. 

EvKKV  circumstance  in  the  life  of  our  Saviour  deserves  devout 
attention,  and  is  full  of  instruction  ;  and  this  is  especially  tme 
with  respect  to  those  significant  acts,  by  which  he  fnKilled  the 
Law,  and  sanctioned  the  usau;es  of  the  Jewish  Church.  That 
Church  was  in  all  important  thinirs  the  same  as  the  Chiistian  ; 
and  althoiiirh  its  outward  rites  were  dill'erent,  in  doctrine  and 
order  there  is  a  perfect  airreement  ;  and  we  ari'  taught  to  look 
U|)on  the  ancient  conj^freiiation  of  the  Lord,  as  the  parent  stock, 
upon  which  has  been  grafted  Christ's  Holy,  Catholic  and  Apos- 
tolic Church.  By  all  the  feasts  and  ceremonies  of  the  Law, 
were  shadowed  forth  the  richer  promises  and  purer  services  of 
the  Gospel  ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  Church  which 
was  established  by  the  Law  of  Moses,  lik(>  that  w  Inch  is  now 
"  built  upon  the  Apostles  and  Prophets^  had  its  sacramert  of 
admission,  and  its  sacrament  of  commemoration — Uie  Circumci- 
sion and  the  Passover  ;  to  both  of  w  Inch  es[)ecial  blessin!<s  were 
promised,  and  which  contiiuted  to  l)e  sii:ns  and  seals  of  God's 
covenant  with  man.  until  our  blessed  Saviour,  havinij,'  fulfilU-d 
the  Fiaw,  ordained  in  their  stead  the  more  spiritual  sacraments  of 
Baptism  and  the  fjord's  Supper  ;  by  the  means  of  which  the 
Christian  is  born  to  God  and  strenulhened  and  refreshed  throuirh 
every  period  of  his  life  ; — tlu'  first,  like  Circumcision,  admitting 
him  into  the  covenant ;  and  the  second,  like  the  Passover, 
continually  remindini!;  him  of  his  piivileges  and  his  responsibility. 
But,  we  are  calli'd  l)y  the  text  to  confine  our  jiresent  notice  to 
the  sacred  rite  of  Circumcision,  and  to  its  corresponding  ordi- 
nance in  the  Christian  Church. 


To  rightly  uiKl.Tstnnd  the  niystcry  ol'  tliu  Circumcision  to 
which  our  iiif.iiu  Saviour  su!)mitt('(i,  it  is  iicrcssary  to  stiite  to 
you  its  nrii^iu  iiiid  its  rpoch.  The  first  isicntion  of  it  is  in  tlio 
suvontcciUh  cliaptcr  of  Gfiesis,  when  God  r.-v.'al.-d  it  to  Abra- 
ham, and  recorded  it  ihr  us  :  -  And  f  will  t.^tahlkk  my  roaiiant 
between  me  and  t/ue,  and  thy  seed  after  thee,  in  their  generations, 
for  an  kvkrl.vsting  covknani'  ;  to  be  a  (io,l  unto  thee,  and  to 
thy  seed  after  thee.''*  As  a  token  and  seal  of  the  covenant, 
God  <rave  liini  this  sacred  rite,  and  coninianded  that  on  the 
eiuhtli  day,  ev(>ry  mak;  cliild  should  ]h)  circumcised  ;  and  the 
neirlfct  of  this  outward  sinii  was  declared  lo  be  a  violation  cfthe 
covenant  ano  a  Ibrli'itun"  of  its  bl<'ssin;i:s.  -  yhid  the  unclraim- 
cised  man  child,  whose  Jlesh  of  his  foreskin  is  not  circumcised, 
that  soul  shall  be  rut  off  from  the  people  :  he  hath  broken  my 
covenant.''^  So  we  learn  that  the  oii.'.;in  of  Circumcision  was 
the  sovereiirn  will  of  God,  and  its  elieet  wa.',  to  brin;^  the  chosen 
people  into  covenant  with  Him.  As  such  it  was  ohs"Vved  by 
all  who  valued  their  election,  and  exercised  their  faith  in  the 
pronnses  of  God — as  snch  i:  was  sanctioned  ai.ci  received,  \hen 
"  the  eight  days  were  accomplished  for  the  circumcising  of  the 
child,  and  they  called  Jli  name  Jksi's  "—as  such  it  must  still 
be  considered  by  us  ;  (or  although  the  sii;n  is  chano^d,  the  sij;ni- 
fication  remains — althounli  we  no  Ion i^a-r  circumcise  our  chilrlnMi, 
our  children  enter  into  covenant  with  God.  St.  Paul,  discours- 
in^^  upon  the  suhjeet,  ''alls  t!,e  si^n  of  circumcision  "  the  seal  of 
the  righteousness  which  is  by  faith  :  "|  and  he  points  out,  with 
wonderlul  precision,  its  nature  as  a  sacrament  :  it  was  an 
entrance  into  covenant  w  iih  God,  "  an  outward  and  visible  siun 
of  an  inward  and  spiritual  ta-ace  yiven  to  them ;  "  it  was  not 
merely  a  mark  to  distinnuish  them  from  the  he;-«h(Mi — it  was  the 
mystical  cuttjnrr  off  of  sin— the  mystical  adoption  into  t'le  family 
of  Gotl.  '•  The  Lord  thy  God  will  circumcise  thine  heart  and 
the  heart  of  thy  seed,  to  lore  the  Lord  tlu/  God  with  all  thy 
heart  and  vnth  all  thy  soul,  that  thou  mnyest  //rc."s§,  So  we  see. 
It  was  not  a  mere  cerei.iony.once  to  b(<  performed  and  then  to  be 
lore ver  forgotten — it  was  to  ivmove  sin— ii.  was  to  sanctify  the 
heart— to  fill  it  w  ith  divin(>  |()V(>  and  prepare  it  for  eternal  life. 

But.  the  sacram(>nt  of  Circumcision  has  ceased  :  it  is  an  ordi- 
nance which  Christ  has  cancelled,  and  it  now  availeth  nothin^^|| 
And  have  all  its  blessings  faih'd  ?     An;  all  its  precious  promises 


*  Cirii.  xvii.  7. 
?  I),  ut.  xxx.  0. 


t  Vrrsf  11. 
ll  (Jill.  V.  r,. 


i  Roin.  iv.  11. 


\\  as 


n^vcrsod  ?  No,  my  l)relhn>n,  ii., ;  they  arc  scrurod  to  us  by  the 
"  Clrcumdnion  of  Christ.''  Is  it  cvc-j  so  ;  tlini  whcr ;  is  the 
siirn  of  the  covenant  r  Where  is  the  "  scat  of  I  he  righteousms.i 
which  is  by  faith  1 "  \\\>  have  th.  in  in  the  "  n-nshing  of 
rcgtncration.'^*  We  have  tlieni  in  tlie  sacrament  of  cir  JJaptisin 
into  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  !  And  so  Haptisni  is  now  to 
us  'vhal  Circumcision  was  to  the  ancient  children  of  the  cove- 
nant— ii  i;  th'!  m(!aro  whereby  we  are  achiiitted  into  the  Church 
of  God  :  and  11k,  who  fulfilled  ilie  one,  ordained  liie  oilier  in  io 
stead;  IJr  who  on  the  ei;;litli  day  was  rircuiiici.'--e(i  because  He 
was  '' borr  under  the  Lnuu^i  has  tauiiht  i  by  Hi;,  example, 
that  it  is  never  too  soon  to  enter  into  covenii  svith  o.ir  Father 
— never  too  soon  to  reeei\(i  the  si;L,ai  of  o'u  uloption  to  be  His 
sons  and  dauffhters.  Nor  was  the  command  to  circumcise  i;iore 
Litrict  and  ln]i)erative,  than  that  by  which  it  was  superseded, 
when  the  uji-eat  Lord  and  Mediator  of  the  re.iewed  covenant  sent 
forth  his  Apostles  to  make  disciples  of  all  nations,  and  to  "  bap- 
tize them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  (rhost."X  It  was  then  that  all  the  privih^L^es  and  blessings 
annexed  io  Circumcision  wen;  transferred  to  the  sacrament  of 
Baptism  thus  ordained  by  Christ  himself,  as  a  means  whereby 
we  receive  the  same,  and  a  pledge  to  assure  us  thereof.*^*  And 
now  to  netrlcot  this  sacred  ordiiKinee  is  to  despise  the  authority 
of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  and  to  place  ourseHes  in  the  condition 
of  those  excommunicated  men  who  in  former  days  "  hrolce  the 
covenant,  and  mere  cut  off  from  the  people  of  the  'Lord^W 

Great  is  the  tnith  an(l  sweel  t!ie  consolation  to  be  derived 
from  this  event  of  our  Saviour's  life ;  and  \s  hile  it  t':'aches  the 
necessity  of  fulfilling  all  the  righteous  ordinances  of  die  Church, 
assures  us  that  all  the  mercies  of  the  Gospel  are  free,  and  that 
all  its  promises  are  :o  us  and  to  our  children.  "  And  xchcn  the 
eight  days  were  accomplished  for  the  circwncising  of  the  child, 
theycaf'ed  his  name  J;:sus."  The  Law  is  fulfilled— Christ  was 
the  end  of  it — still  His  covenant  of  gra'.  ■  standeth  sure,  and  the 
blessings  promised  to  the  Church  are  neither  lessened  nor 
limited,  now  that  the  admission  into  :i  is  by  tiie  more  spiritual 
sacrament  of  holy  Baptism.  Yes.  my  brethren,  the  "promise  is 
to  us  and  to  our  children  ;  "U  and  like  the  children  of  Abraham,, 
after  the  example  of  die  Holy  Child  Jf.sus,  we  may  enter  the 
covenant  as  soon  as  we  are  born  ;  and  this  being  the  case,  is  it 


*  Titus  iii.  :,. 

§  Church  Catechism. 


t  nil.  iv.  4. 
|{  Gen,  xvii. 


14. 


t  Mattli.  xxviii.  19. 
H  Acts  ii.  39. 


8 


not  well  for  us  ♦-•  consider,  if,  in  denying  to  children  the  sign  and 
seal  of  that  covenant,  we  do  not  put  a  stumbling  block  in  their 
way,  and  keep  them  back  from  the  privileges  which  are  at  once 
their  birthright  and  their  blessing.  The  children  of  Jews  were 
admitted  to  this  covenant,  and  their  Circumcision  was  a  profitable 
service  ;*  it  sealed  them  as  members  of  God's  chosen  family — 
it  made  them  the  inheritors  of  the  promises  made  to  Abraham — 
to  Abraham  and  his  seed  forever.f  And  can  it  be  that  the 
Gospel,  "  the  ministration  of  glory, ^'  is  so  much  less  privileged 
than  the  Law,  "'  the  ministration  of  condemnation,^^  that  the 
children  of  Cin-istians — of  Christians,  the  true  and  spiritual  seed 
of  Abraham, J  are  to  derive  no  advantage  from  this  gracious 
decree,  and  that  thousands  are  to  live  and  die  without  admission 
into  the  everlasting  covenant  ?  God  forbid  !  "  Their  angels  do 
behold  the  face  of  their  Father  in  heaven,'^  and  they  cannot  be 
excluded  from  the  grace  and  favor  of  adoption  upon  earth. 

It  is  possible  that  all  of  you  have  heard  expressions  of  con- 
tempt on  Infant  Baptism — it  is  possible  that  some  of  you  may 
have  indulged  in  them ;  but.  did  our  Lord  sanction  such  expres- 
sions when  He  submitted  to  Inflmt  Circumcision  ?  and  did  He 
not  most  solemnly  reprove  them  when  He  bade  his  disciples  to 
^^  suffer  Utile  children  to  come  unto  Him  and  forbid  them  not '1  <^ 
We  learn  from  the  history  of  liie  Circumcision,  that  infants  might 
enter  into  covenant  with  God,  and  we  see  in  the  conduct  of  our 
kind  Redeemer,  that  they  might  particii)ate  in  spiritual  mercies, 
for  "  He  laid  his  hands  upon  them  and  blessed  them."  It  is  a  vain 
thing  to  argue  that  there  is  no  express  command  to  baptize 
infants ;  there  needed  none ;  tlie  law  of  Circuni'^ision  was  a 
sufficient  rule,  and  in  this  law  the  time  was  distinctly  prescribed  ; 
and  it  is  the  same  covenant,  only  unveiled,  made  new  and  per- 
fected with  better  hopes  and  better  promises,  of  which  Baptism 
is  the  sign  and  seal ;  and  w  liich  was  ordained  by  Christ  when 
he  charged  his  Apostles  to  "  disciple  all  nations,'' — there  is  no 
direction  to  change  the  time — there  is  no  intimation  tliat  the  time 
was  changed,  anil  in  all  the  Scripture  there  is  no  word  of  pro- 
hibition upon  the  ciiildren  of  Christians.  On  the  contrary,  not 
only  the  Circumcision  of  the  infant  Jesus,  but  the  word  of  his 
Apostles,  the  conduct  of  the  (irst  Christians,  and  tlu;  judgment  of 
the  whole  Catholic  Church,  all  combine  to  witness  the  tmth 
which  our  reason  approves  and  which  our   faith  confirms,  vl".. 


*  liom.  iii. 
§  Msirk  X,  1 


1,'.'. 


t  Iiiik''  i   5.'). 


1    A<'ts  iii. 


fJal.  iii.  29. 


bt) 


9 


i 


I 


that  God  is  unchangeahk  ;  and  that  the  token  of  the  covenant 
accorded  to  the  infant  Jews,  is  not  denied  to  the  children  of 
Christians ;  and  it  was  with  this  assurance  that  St.  Peter,  when 
persuading  the  niuhitude  to  Baptism,  appeals  to  this  privilege — 
"  Ye  are  the  children  of  the  covenant  which  God  made  tvith  our 
fathers."*  Of  what  covenant  did  he  then  speak  ?  Was  it  not 
the  same  which  God  made  to  Abraham,  of  which  all  the  child- 
ren of  Abraham  received  the  seal  on  the  eighth  day,  and  of  which 
holy  Baptism  is  now  the  sign  ?  If  there  could  be  any  doubt 
upon  tills  subject,  it  is  removed  by  the  arguments  of  St.  Paul, 
where  he  speaks  of  the  Church  under  the  figiu-e  of  an  olive  tree, 
of  which  Christianity  is  the  graft,  and  tells  his  converts  that  they 
siiared  all  the  privileges  of  the  covenant  made  with  Abraham — 
privileges  which  he  compares  to  "  the  root  and  fatness  of  the  olive 
tree."f  And  to  make  the  affinity  still  more  close  and  clear,  we 
have  only  to  read  the  third  chapter  to  the  Galatians,  where  he 
distinctly  asserts  that  the  Gospel  was  preached  unto  Abraham,^ 
and  that  it  is  one  and  die  same  covenant.    "  Know  ye,  therefore, 

that  they  which  are  of  faith  are  the  children  of  Abraham 

For  ye  are  all  the  children  of  God  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus.  For 
as  many  of  you  as  are  baptized  into  Christ,  have  put  on  Christ. 
There  is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  there  is  neither  bond  nor  free, 
there  is  neither  ninle  nor  female ;  for  ye  are  all  one  in  Christ 
Jesus  ;   AND  IF  YE  BE  Christ's,  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed 

AND  HEIRS  ACCORDING  TO  THE  PROMISE."«§> 

No  words  can  be  plainer,  and  they  teach  us  that  the  Gospel 
was  not  to  contract  but  to  expand  the  free  mercies  of  God — not 
to  limit  but  to  extend  the  blessings  of  the  covenant.  They  had 
never  been  confined  to  infancy  or  to  age — but  now  every  obstruc- 
tion was  to  be  removed.  The  covenant  had  been  restricted  to 
Jews,  but  now  the  Gentiles  were  to  be  admitted.  The  token  of 
the  covenant  had  been  given  only  to  males,  hut  now  females 
were  to  receive  it  also  ;  all  were  to  be  one  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  and 


I 


*  Acts  iii.  25.  t  Rom.  xi.  17.  t  8th  verse. 

§  Gal.  iii.  20,  et  scq.  It  is  true  that  the  Gospol  is  called,  by  St.  Paul,  "  o  new 
covenant,"  hut  we  must  not  make  him  so  contradict  all  those  other  passages  in  which 
he  speaks  of  it  heina;  one  anil  the  same  with  the  Alirahamic  covenant.  It  was  new, 
in  the  same  sense  in  which  the  commandment  to  "  lore  one  another"  was  a  "new 
commandment."  h  was  new,  as  hvinii  l/i at  in  s'.ilistunco  which  the  ancient  cove- 
nant was  in  shadow,  with  a  lara;or  etTusion  of  sjrace  and  richer  promises  of  mercy. 
It  was  new,  as  reniovina:  all  restrictions— as  suiiplyinif  every  thins  that  was  want- 
ing;— as  revealing  every  thing  that  iiad  heeu  veiled  and  hidden— as  embracing  all 
who  had  been  excluded,  and  making  ^' all  one  in  Christ  Je:in.s  "—o\d  and  young, 
male  and  female,  Jew  and  Greek,  Barbarian,  Scythian,  liond  and  free,  without  hin- 
drance or  distinction,  ''  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus." 


I 


10 


if  the  Jewish  infant  were  to  be  admitted  into  the  Church  on  the 
eighth  day,  it  would  be  cruel,  it  would  be  profane,  to  exclude  the 
heir  of  "  a  more  excellent  minutry  "  from  the  very  earliest  con- 
signation of  its  blessings. 

Nothing,  therefore,  but  necessity  is  deemed  by  the  Church  a 
sufficient  excuse  for  delay,  ?nd  while  by  her  article  she  affirms 
her  judgment  that  "the  baptism  of  young  children  is  to  be 
retained,"  as  most  agreeable  to  the  institution  of  Christ,  she  directs, 
by  her  Rubric,  "  that  it  be  not  deferred  longer  than  the  first  or 
second  Sunday  after  its  birth." 

The  Circumcision  of  the  infant  Jesus  ought  to  be  sufficient  to 
settle  the  question  of  Infant  Baptism,  which  w  ith  striking  fidelity 
is  called  by  the  Apostle,  "  the  Circumcision  of  Christ,'^  or,  as  it 
is  sometimes  called.  Christian  Circumcision,  or  the  Circumcision 
of  Christians.*  In  all  the  baptism?  of  the  Apostles,  no  exception 
of  children  is  eviu"  made.  The  baptism  of  the  woman  of  Thya- 
tira  and  ''  her  AoMsc,"t  of  the  Philippian  jailer  "  and  all  /iis,"J 
and  of  "  the  household  of  Stephenas,^''^  are  all  recorded  in  a 
manner  to  show  that  neither  doubts  nor  scruples  were  entertained 
upon  the  subject.  The  argument  of  St.  Paul,  that  a  believing 
parent  sanctifies  the  children,  is  another  convincing  proof  that 
such  children  could  enter  into  covenant.  For  '•  the  unbelieving 
husband  is  sanctified  by  the  ivife,  and  the  unhelicving  wife  is 
sanctified  by  the  husband,  else  were  your  children  unclean,  but 
NOW  ARE  TtEY  HfUiY,|j — that  is,  dedicated,  or  capable  of  being 
dedicated  to  God,  for  in  no  other  way  could  they  be  considered 
holy ;  while  the  invariable  practice  of  the  Catholic  Church  for 
many  hundred  years  confirms  this  view  of  the  case,  as  it  is  pre- 
sented to  us  in  the  ^^•ol•d  of  God  ;1[  and  although  at  various  times, 
as  at  the  present,  there  have  been  contentious  men  to  hinder  and 
find  fault  with  the  baptism  of  children,**  there  are  none  bold 
enough  to  dispute  the  fact  that  such  was  the  custom  in  all  the 
Churches  in  every  age  ;  and  all  tme  believers  in  the  primitive 
Church  allowed  its  validity,  and  valued  it  as  their  promise  and 
their  privilege.  Again,  I  repeat,  the  fact  was  never  denied  ;  and 
it  proves  the  undisputed  custom  of  the  apostolic  age,  that  at  the 


*Cnl.  ii.  11.  tActsxvi.  15.  t  Acts  xvi.  33. 

§  1  Cor.  i.  1(1.  II  1  Cor.  vii.  14. 

IT  Pctpr  Bruis.  a  Fri'nclimriii  wlin  lived  in  thn  eleventh  century,  ""is  the  first 
Raptist  \vh<)  hud  a  retrular  cnntfre^atidii.  The  IJaptists  (if  (ierni  uiy,  a  turliulont 
and  enthusiastic  sect,  took  their  rise  in  the  he^'innin!?  ol'  the  fifteenth  century;  and 
there  was  no  coui^resjalion  of  Daplists  in  Ensjlund  before  the  year  liilO. 

**  St.  Denis,  the  Areapaa;ite.  calls  them  '' unholy  persons  and  enemies  to  the 
Christian  Religion." 


council  of  Carthaire*  there  was  a  question,  not  if  infants  sliould 
be  baptized,  but  if  it  should  be  done  before  the  eighth  day ;  and 
that  is  a  fine  argument  for  the  custom,  which  is  supplied  us  by 
Irena^us,  who  lived  only  a  few  years  after  the  inspired  Apostles. 
"^  Christ,"  he  says,  "  did  sanctify  every  age  b>  "lis  own  suscep- 
tion  of  it  and  similitude  to  it.  For  He  came  to  save  all  men  by 
himself;  all,  I  say,  who  by  Him  are  Iwrn  again  unto  God,  infants 
and  children  and  boys,  and  young  men  and  old  men.  He  was 
made  an  infant  to  infants,  sanctifying  infants,"  &c.t  And  so  the 
tradition  of  the  Church,  and  the  practice  of  the  Apostles,  and  the 
example  of  Christ,  all  concur  as  consentient  witnesses  to  the 
virtue  and  necessity  of  Infant  Baptism. 

Yet  objections  are  urged  against  the  practice,  and  I  will 
endeavor  with  fairness  and  meekness  to  answer  thon. 

"A  negative  argument  for  matters  of  fact,"  says  Bishop 
Jeremy  Taylor,  "  cannot  conclude  a  law ; "  and  yet  all  the 
arguments  that  infants  should  not  be  baptized  are  of  this  charac- 
ter ;  and  the  passages  in  Scripture  brought  forward  to  support 
them,  although  sometimes  plausible,  will,  none  of  them,  when 
fairly  examined,  bear  such  an  interpretation. 

The  first  is,  the  charge  of  our  Saviour  to  his  Apostles,  "  Go 
ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name 
of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost. ''f  From 
this  it  is  argued  that  teaching  ought  to  go  before  Baptism,  and  as 
infants  cannot  be  taught,  therefore  they  ought  not  to  be  baptized  : 
and  if  these  were  the  exact  words  of  Christ,  the  conclusion  would 
not  be  unwarrantable.  All  the  words  of  the  covenant  were  to  be 
taught  to  die  Jews,  yet  they  did  not  wait  until  this  could  be  done, 
to  circumcise  their  children  and  thereby  admit  them  to  the  cove- 
nant ;  but  the  Greek  word  in  this  text,  which  we  have  rendered 
"  teach,"  literally  means  disciple,  or  make  disciples ;  and  thus 
rightly  understood,  all  the  point  of  the  argument  is  lost,  and 
teaching  follows  the  ordinance,  "  teaching  them  to  observe  all 
things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you  ;  and  lo,  I  am  with  you 
alwuys,  even  unto  the  :nd  of  the  world."  The  command  is 
emphatic — "  all  nations  " — of  which  children  are  an  integral  part, 
and  there  is  no  word  to  exclude  them. 

The  next  passage  is  the  same  commission  of  our  Lord,  as  it  is 


*  This  council  was  held  A.  D.  '^30;  St.  Cyprian  pr  (lent.  It  was  attended  Ijy 
sixty-six  African  Bi.slioi)s,  and  tliey  all  declared  unaniiiiuiisly,  that  none  were  to  he 
hinclcred  from  Baptism  and  tiie  tjriice  of  God,  and  this  rule  "was  more  especially  to 
he  ohserved  with  reference  to  infunls. 


t  Iren.  Lib.  ii.  c.  ,19. 


t  Matt,  xxviii.  19. 


12 


recorded  by  St.  Mark.  "  Go  yc  into  all  the  loorld  and  preach 
the  Gospel  to  every  creature.  He  that  bclieveth  and  is  baptized 
shall  be  saved,  and  he  icho  believcth  not  shall  be  damned."* 
Here  the  same  line  of  ai'i,aiment  is  pursued,  viz.  ''  He  who 
believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved  " — infants  cannot  believe, 
and  th(!refore  infants  are  not  to  be  baptized.  But  this  involves  a 
difficulty  even  greater  than  the  former ;  and  would  lead  to  a 
conclusion  revoltinji  to  reason  and  at  variance  with  the  attributes 
and  word  of  God  ;  that  He  requires  that  which  we  are  unable  to 
perform,  and  will  punish  the  neglect  of  obligations  which  it  is 
imy^ossible  to  fulfil  ; — for  if  the  deduction  be  right  on  one  point 
of  the  text,  it  must  be  on  the  other,  and  then  it  would  be,  infants 
cannot  be  saved  because  they  cannot  believe  ;  nay,  what  is  even 
worse — infants  cannot  believe,  and  therefore,  infants  will  be 
damned.  May  God  deliver  you  from  such  an  error — opposed, 
as  it  is,  to  the  greatness  of  His  mercy  and  the  freeness  of  His 
grace. 

The  other  passage^  which  makes  repentance  necessary  admits 
of  the  same  general  reply.  "  Repent  and  be  baptized  every  one 
of  you,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  remission  of  sins, 
and  yc  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost.^-f  Here 
repentance  was  required  of  all  who  had  committed  sin,  and  could 
undei-s^vnd  and  value  the  grace  of  God  ;  but  this  was  not  to 
exclude  from  the  Gospel  covenant  all  those  who  had  no  present 
capacity  for  these  tilings ;  and  lest  they  should  fall  into  this 
mistake,  the  words  of  the  following  verse  seem  to  have  been 
added — "for  the  promise  is  to  you  and  to  your  children."  All 
the  demands  of  the  Gospel  suppose  the  capacity  to  fulfil  them, 
and  God  expects  of  us  "  o)dy  according  to  what  ive  have,  and 
not  according  to  ivhat  tvc  have  not.'"X  We  may  illustrate  this, 
by  the  manner  we  act  upon  other  impracticable  precepts.  Take, 
for  instance,  the  passage  of  the  Apostle — "  For  even  when  we 
were  ivith  you,  this  tvc  commanded  you,  that  if  any  would  not 
loorlc,  neither  should  he  eat."  Here  industry  is  required  of  all, 
to  obtain  their  daily  bread  ;  and  yet  what  parent  ever  thinks  of 
denying  necessary  food  to  an  infant,  who  has  no  capacity  to 
work  for  it  ? 

We  must  not  deny — we  do  not  deny — that  knowledge  and 
faith  and  repentance  are  all  necessary,  ivhen  they  can  be  prac- 
tised :  they  were  necessary  to  every  adult  convert  to  the  Jewish 
religion,  before  he  could  be  circumcised ;  they  would  be  neces- 


i 

j 

f 


*  Mark  xvi.  15, 16. 


t  Acts  ii.  38. 


t  2  Cor   viii.  10. 


T 


id  preach 
baptized 
amned."* 
He  icko 
)t  believe, 
nvolves  a 
lead  to  a 
attributes 
unable  to 
'hich  it  is 
one  point 
36,  infants 
at  is  even 
;  will  be 
-opposed, 
53  of  His 

ry  admits 
every  one 
n  of  sins, 
't  Here 
and  could 
as  not  to 
o  present 
into  this 
ave  been 
!n."  All 
Ifil  them, 
have,  and 
rate  this, 
s.  Take, 
when  we 
jould  not 
'd  of  all, 
thinks  of 
pacity  to 

3dge  and 

be  prac- 

le  Jewish 

)e  neces- 

i.  10. 


I 


IS 


sary  to  any  one  of  you,  if,  (ni^^glecting  it  until  this  time,)  you 
were  now  to  pres'  t  yourselves  ibr  Baptism,  This  is  the  dcictrine 
of  the  Church,  as  laught  in  her  Catechism  ;  it  is  the  doctrine  of 
the  Gospel  ;  but,  it  applies  not  to  children  m  ho  have  no  ability 
to  learn — no  capacity  to  believe — no  occasion  to  repent.  It 
was  no  obstacle  to  the  circumcision  of  infants  that  they  were 
untaught — that  they  did  not  believe — that  they  could  not  repent ; 
— but,  if  when  they  were  i  apable  of  these  things,  they  neglected 
them — if  while  they  prided  themselves  as  being  the  children  of 
Abraham,  they  failed  to  do  the  works  of  Abraham,  and  became 
breakers  of  the  La-  ',  then  "  their  circumcision  became  micircum- 
cision,"*  and  they  forfeited  all  the  blessings  of  the  covenant. 
So,  in  like  manner,  if,  baptized  in  infancy,  you  live  to  commit 
sin,  and  forget  God  and  remain  unchanged  and  unsanctified  in 
heart  and  life  ;  wh),  then  your  Baptism  will  be  as  no  Baptism  ; 
that  is,  it  will  avail  you  nothing  to  salvation,  and  othei-s  less 
privileged  will  be  preferred  before  you,  ''ivhcn  ye  shall  see 
Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  your- 
selves thrust  oM^"f 

I  am  aware  that  the  case  of  the  Ethiopian  Eunuch  is  fre- 
quently urged  against  Infant  Baptism ;  but,  w  hen  rightly 
considered,  it  will  prove  no  more  than  the  capital  texts  I  have 
already  noticed  ;  it  will  prove  no  more  than  1  am  ready  to  allow, 
viz.  that  an  idolater  ought  not  to  be  baptized — that  a  denier  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  cannot  be  received  into  covenant  with 
God.  St.  Philip  knew  that  this  treasurer  of  Queen  Candace 
had  been  brought  up  an  Egyptian  and  a  heathen  ;  he  had,  how- 
ever, witnessed  some  signs  of  his  conversion,  in  his  attention  to 
ine  Scriptures  and  the  request  to  be  baptized,  and  he  was  taught 
by  the  reply  of  the  Evangelist  that  the  outward  washing  of 
water  would  confer  no  benefit  unless  he  had  embraced  the 
Gospel  in  sincerity.  "  If  thou  believest  with  all  thine  heart, 
thou  mayestyX  But,  in  what  manner  does  this  )irohibit  the 
baptism  of  infants  ?  We  know  that  when  a  heathen  was  con- 
verted to  the  Jewish  religion,  he  was  not  only  circumcised 
himself,  but  all  his  children  received  the  sign  of  the  covenant  on 
his  account."^.  Let  us  look  to  this  argument.  If  a  heathen  that 
had  turned  from  idols  to  the  living  God,  had  prayed  to  be 
circumcised  according  to  the  Law,  and  the  Priest  had  said,  if 
thou  believest  in  the  God  of  Israel  thou  mayest ;  would  such  an 


Rom. 


li.  25. 


§  Exod.  xii.  48. 


t  Luke  xiii.  28. 


Ads  viii.  37. 


14 


answer  serve  ;ohi„aeMheci„u„^^^^^^^^^^^ 

:„•    ellwand  S-ade  n.eet  fo,-  .ha,  onhnance  by  ,he 

sr-Li  J;,  and .  ^^::^^x^,:^:^  x 
^sp:;i.1  :.■  V;'  -£  ::;;u■7s^o^h^ii: 

special  rule  upon  the  subject.     But  no  ^"^^  ^^ 'g    •  „^  ^o 

On   fliP  rnntrarv    a     the   intimations  ot   the  »cnp.ures^u 

teLKl  nations,  ammmi/,^?  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father 
ff  tip  Son    and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  surely,  none  xvould 
Ta^tt  sobddat  toargue  fi/m  this,  that  the  Circumcision 
of  children  was  to  be  discontinued  ;  or  make  the  omission  of  the 
le    a    reason    for   denying   to   them   an   entrance   nito   the 

'° KTexpross  command  is  indeed  necessary  for  every  religious 
account,  keep  the  first  day  ol  "e  J^ck      y,         1^ 

sha     he"  find  a  scriptural  rule  or  a  scnptnral  ™™!f  f"  *^ 

!:^^,kltZl  and  drink  of  that  cup ; "f  and  we  know  that 


*  1.  Cor.  vii.  14. 


t  1.  Cor.  xi.  28. 


V^AA 


15 


our  blessed  Lord  administered  the  sacrament  only  to  his  twelve 
disciples. 

But,  they  say,  they  liave  both  rule  and  example  for  their 
practice,  and  point  to  the  Baptism  of  our  bless.'d  Lord,  who  did 
not  receive  the  rite  until  he  was  thirty  years  old.  There  never 
was  a  jrreater  mistake  than  that  of  supposing  the  baptism  of 
John  to  be  Christian  baptism  ;  or  that  our  Lord  in  receiving  that 
baptism  affords  us  a  just  reason  for  delaying  our  own,  or  that  of  our 
children.  It  is  the  Circumcision,  not  the  Baptism  of  Christ  which 
is  to  be  our  pattern.  By  Circumcision  He  entered  the  covenant, 
as  we,  by  Baptism,  enter  it  now.  The  baptism  of  John  was  only 
a  preparatory  service,  the  baptism  of  repentance — a  service  suited 
only  to  the  time  and  circumstance,  ?nd  which  ceased  widi  him — 
a  baptism  which  was  received  only  by  a  limited  number,  and 
which  did  not  make  tiie  true  sacrament  of  Baptism  unnecessaiy  ; 
for  many  received  it  at  the  hands  of  John,  who  had  never  even 
"heard  of  the  Holy  Ghost,''  and  were  baptized  again  into  die 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.* 

Oh  !  then,  I  pray  you,  my  dear  bretlu-en,  to  weigh  well  these 
arguments  which  speak  for  the  free  mercy  of  God,  and  the 
unspeakable  benefit  of  your  children — children  who  are  ordained 
by  God  to  eternal  life — childr.m  given  to  you  that  you  may  join 
them  unto  the  Lord  in  the  everlasting  covenant.  Oh  !  consider, 
and  beware  how  you  limit  the  goodness  and  the  grace  of  God  ; 
consider  and  beware  how  you  act  the  part  of  those  rebuked 
disciples,  who  would  have  hindered  the  little  children  when 
brought  to  Christ,  and  whom  Christ  blessed  and  pronounced  to 
be  fit  objects  of  the  kingdom  of  God.f  Oh  !  consider,  consider 
and  beware  of  the  measure  you  mete  to  your  children,  lest  at  a 
greater  day  the  same  be  measured  to  you  again  ;  and  the  entrance 
you  refuse  them  to  the  kingdom  of  God  u|ion  earth,  be  denied 
you  to  the  kingdom  of  God  in  heaven.  And  if  all  my  argu- 
ments fail,  yet  let  the  word  of  Jesus  awaken  you  to  the  responsi- 
bility. "  It  lucre  better  that  a  millstone  were  hanged  about  your 
neck,  and  ye  cast  into  the  sea,  than  that  ye  should  offend  one  of 
these  little  ones." J  And  I  cannot  but  believe  that  we  do  offend 
them  when  we  keep  them  from  a  sacramental  union  with  their 
willing  Saviour,  and  leave  them  to  the  uncovenanted  mercies  of 
their  God. 

What  is  to  be  the  consequence  to  those  who  live  and  die  in 
this  alienated  state,  we  are  not  conxpetent  to  decide  ;  we  can 


*  Acts  xix.  1—4. 


t  Luke  xviii.  16. 


t  Luke  xvii.  2. 


16 


only  form  our  jiulj^ment  by  the  promises  made  to  tliose  who  are 
in  the  bom's  of  the  covenant — by  the  promise  of  pardon — by  the 
promise  of  graces — by  th<!  promise  of  salvation  to  those  who  are 
bom  a'^ain  to  God,  and  fulfil  the  obligations  of  their  new  birth. 
And  .lie  Church  has  loft  us  to  the  same  rule ;  for  while  she 
declares  with  authority,  that  "  children  which  are  baptized,  dying 
before  they  commit  actual  sin,  are  undoubtedly  saved,"  she 
has  charj^ed  her  ministers  not  to  perform  the  office  of  Christian 
burial  for  any  who  die  uiibaptized,  lest  they  should  utter  expres- 
sions with  respect  to  them  \\  liich  God  has  not  sanctioned,  or  lead 
men  to  suppose  that  it  is  a  matter  of  indifference  whether  they 
are  baptized  or  not. 

Once  more,  then,  dear  brethren,  I  entreat  you  to  consider  this 
accumulated  evidence  for  Infant  Baptism  ;  and  weigh  well  the 
judgment  of  the  Church  and  the  ])attern  of  our  Lord — who  to 
teach  us  that  children  are  capable  of  spiritual  mercies,  "  took 
them  in  His  arms  mid  put  His  hands  upon  them  and  blessed 
them  " — who,  to  show  that  they  are  objects  of  peculiar  favor, 
informs  us  that  "  in  heaven  their  ayigels  do  ahvays  behold  the 
face  of  the  Father ''* — who,  to  prove  to  us  that  they  are  accep- 
table memb  /$  of  the  Church  upon  earth,  declares  that  "  of  such  is 
the  kingdom  of  God  "f — and  who,  to  exemplify  all  this  in  his 
own  sacred  pei-son,  entered  as  a  child  of  Abraham  into  the  cove- 
nant, and  received  the  sign  and  the  seal  of  it  on  the  eighth  day 
from  his  birth,  "  and  they  called  his  name  Jesus  J'  It  wa^?  the 
name  assigned  Him  by  the  annunciating  angel,  and  was  expressive 
cf  the  office  He  came  to  fulfil,  the  Saviour  of  the  world  !  lie 
submitted  to  Circumcision  as  the  child  of  man.  He  received  His 
name  as  the  Son  of  God.  And  this  is  the  honor  put  upon  holy 
Baptism ;  we  are  taken  to  it  as  the  offspring  oi  a  corrupt  nature 
and  a  sinful  race — '•  the  children  of  wrath,"  and  we  there  receive 
a  Chiistian  name,  to  remind  us  forever  that  therein  we  are  made 
"members  of  Christ,  the  children  of  God,  and  inheritors  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven. "| 

Yet  let  not  my  arguments  be  wrested  or  misunderstood  ;  and 
while  pressing  upon  you  the  necessity  of  Infant  Baptism,  and  the 
danger  of  neglecting  it,  let  it  not  be  said  that  I  encourage  the 
vain  confidence,  that  the  mere  act  of  Baptism  will  save  you, 
without  its  purifying  and  practical  effects.  "  Ciraimcinon  verily 
profitethr  saith  the  Apostle,  "  if  thou  keep  the  Lata."  And 
^v'(•  may  say  the  same  of  Bajjtism,  if  you  obey  the  Gospel ;  and 


, 


*  Mali,  xviii.  in. 


+  Markx.  U. 


t  Church  Catechism. 


17 


Clmstian  cli^iiL-!:!^'  ^  .-Hv  wl   'l  '1'     "  %  ^'"  '"^^^  "*"  ^^>« 
the  Jew  and  the  1  eat  n        l  '"■'  "  •''^tin-ruislu-d  li-oiu 

witness  and  e^J^it:  ^Zl^T t''  ^''^'  '7  ^— 
pass  from  tlie  de-ith  n^^  •      V^  .   '      "'*"  "^*''"''^  whereby  we 

righteousne  s  tot    ich  u  '  t""''  ''"  ''"'  ''"'"'  ^«  ^''^^^  ^'^-  of 

siinin.a,TseaL.of  a     tir  ^"^""^V '>>; <^"hrisl.*     Jt  is  the 
the  bolul  TuZ   I  etween'ffr'?"'  /^^l^"^^  -^^'^"^'t     ^t  is 

not  only  by  th^  leLZ  wl     r"'^^^  ^  "'  ^^^''''•^'"  '^  ^^  ^^'^  ^^^S< 

Church-ou    of  \huan^^      r^^  ''■'''  ^'  ^^^"^  °"t  of  the 
Himself,  ''  £rl/ «  Li:^'T  /'         '^  '"'^  ''  ^'^  '^^^^  '*:^   ^^^'i^t 

ciuljy  careful   not  hC  ?    r       ^      '   '      ^"*'   '^'^^  '«"^^t  Le  espe- 

without  ii  renevJin  tl  "^^^^  i:^^ '^  if  ^^"77' 
baptism  we  are  ndmitwi  :  ♦  .i  7m  "  '  "  '^  true,  that  by 
upon  ear^;   but     t     1  '^h  ''''  Cljurch-the  kingdom  of  God 

M7-  /.  '  i  "^  "' 't'l  piivjleirc's  and  iiibfM- 1 -ill  it .  Li 

We  are  calM  by  our  ba|,tisi„_w,.  ar.  tW        ,„        ^       I"'' 

oj  me  L.aw,  thy  Circumcwon  is  made  uncircumehim,  "+-1     \    i 
w^e  quite  salb  in  applying  the  same  n^^^  hd^  ^klm     "' 

referred  to  the  sS   f  r        '  ,    ''  T  ^""^'^'^'^-ition  must  be 
eirej  to  the  Spnt  ol  Christ,  through  the  operation  oi"  u  hicli 


*  '  Pclnr  i.  :(. 

I    111    lIlC   (iriMJli;,! 

If  il'etori.  10. 


+  2  (".)!•.  i.  21. 
it  is,  e.\cu|il  iiiir  I,,.  |,i,rii,  (^f. 
**  Mattli.  XX.  li;. 


i  f-al.  iii.  oc,  07 
jl  J'lliii  111.  0. 
f+  Uoni.  li.  jj. 


rMJMWit 


la 


we  are  (luickoncd  in  that  sacranu'nt.  "  Born  again  of  water 
ami  of  the  Spirit,"  let  us  seek  at  all  times  the  yuidanco  of  that 
Spirit,  and  exercis.  at  all  times  a  practical  liiilh  in  that  quick- 
enint,'  pvower,  and  adoni  that  faith  with  purity  o<'  life,  and  then 
with'confidence  we  may  say,  "  Now  Baptism  savcth  us."*  But  if 
we  continue  in  carelessness  and  sin — if  neither  the  lisht  nor  the 
fruits  of  the  spirit  are  visih)(5  in  our  lives,  then,  inst(>ad  ot  obtain- 
in*?  such  assurance,  we  shall  pfvther  nothinji;  from  it  but  reproof 
and  condemnation — the  n^proof  and  condemnation  of  disloyal 
sid)jects  raid  uniiratefid  children,  upon  wiiom  a  uracious  God  and 
Father  has  freely  bestowed  His  grace  and  favor,  and  bestowed 
them  in  vain. 

To  sum  up  and  conclude  :  Baptism,  like  Circumcision,  is  an 
appointment  of  God,  and  it  must  be  complied  with  ;  it  is  a 
merciful  appointm(>nt,  and  it  ought  to  make  us  thankful ;  it  is 
ordained  to  be  a  means  of  grace,  as  such  we  must  value  it ;  it 
lays  upon  us  the  greatest  obligations,  and  we  nnist  labor  dili- 
gently to  fulfil  them  ;  it  jilaces^  us  in  a  state  of  salvation,  and 
fervent  must  be  our  prayt.s,  and  earnest  our  endeavors,  that  we 
may  continue  in  that  state  unto  our  lives'  end  :  and  even  then, 
however  severe  may  have  been  our  repentance,  however  great 
our  faith,  however  strict  our  obedience,  we  shall  attribute  all  our 
salvation  to  the  free,  the  unmerited  mercy  of  God,  and  not 
trusting  to  our  works  or  deservings,  we  shall  say,  "  Now  Bap- 
tism SAVETH  us,"  The  blessedness  of  Baptism  is  not  in  the 
act  once  perfonned,  but  in  its  constant  power  and  glorious  result ; 
and  like  its  correspondent  sacrament  of  Circumcision,  it  verily 
profiteth,  if  "  we  truly  repent  and  unfeignedly  believe  the 
Gospel."t 


^i 


*  1  Poler  iii.  21. 


t  Church  Service. 


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VI 


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